Written Answers Monday 13 July 2009

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged (a) 13 and under, (b) 14 to 17 and (c) 18 and over have been admitted to hospital for mental and behavioural disorders related to alcohol in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The following tables show the number of patients in acute hospitals with a diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorders related to alcohol use, by health board of treatment and by age group.

  Table 1. Number of People Aged 13 and Under Admitted to Hospital with Mental and Behavioural Disorders Associated with Alcohol Use, by Health Board of Treatment and by Year1-6

  

 NHS Board
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08


 Ayrshire and Arran
 20
 28
 18
 26
 18


 Borders
 12
 *
 *
 *
 *


 Dumfries and Galloway
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 Fife 
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 Forth Valley 
 13
 *
 10
 10
 *


 Grampian
 10
 *
 *
 *
 *


 Greater Glasgow
 21
 32
 24
 35
 31


 Highland 
 *
 *
 *
 14
 10


 Lanarkshire
 *
 10
 12
 *
 10


 Lothian
 17
 15
 13
 19
 12


 Orkney
 *
 *
 -
 -
 -


 Shetland
 *
 *
 *
 *
 -


 Tayside
 *
 11
 13
 10
 10


 Western Isles
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 Scotland 
 127
 130
 127
 148
 133



  Table 2. Number of People Aged 14 to 17 Years Admitted to Hospital with Mental and Behavioural Disorders Associated with Alcohol use, by Health Board of Treatment and by Year1-6

  

 NHS Board
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08


 Ayrshire and Arran
 135
 132
 105
 117
 130


 Borders
 38
 16
 35
 41
 41


 Dumfries and Galloway
 11
 14
 12
 14
 29


 Fife 
 14
 18
 30
 33
 26


 Forth Valley 
 30
 17
 12
 20
 15


 Grampian
 76
 56
 76
 79
 80


 Greater Glasgow
 116
 155
 146
 166
 150


 Highland 
 69
 58
 61
 65
 79


 Lanarkshire
 56
 58
 50
 51
 69


 Lothian
 54
 42
 64
 84
 88


 Orkney
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 Shetland
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 Tayside
 64
 56
 53
 47
 48


 Western Isles
 21
 17
 15
 15
 11


 Scotland
 700
 655
 673
 743
 778



  Table 3. Number of People Aged 18 Years or Over Admitted to Hospital with Mental and Behavioural Disorders Associated with Alcohol Use, by Health Board of Treatment and by Year1-6

  

 NHS Board
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08


 Ayrshire and Arran
 1,901
 1,911
 1,761
 1,858
 1,963


 Borders
 306
 329
 312
 414
 419


 Dumfries and Galloway
 346
 324
 341
 336
 335


 Fife 
 605
 695
 708
 763
 745


 Forth Valley 
 664
 732
 512
 616
 690


 Grampian
 1,579
 1,599
 1,518
 1,693
 1,912


 Greater Glasgow
 6,196
 6,672
 6,560
 6,935
 7,093


 Highland 
 1,502
 1,357
 1,388
 1,351
 1,447


 Lanarkshire
 1,794
 1,842
 1,710
 1,775
 1,863


 Lothian
 2,162
 2,217
 2,267
 2,619
 2,743


 Orkney
 102
 97
 94
 105
 125


 Shetland
 70
 78
 90
 83
 82


 Tayside
 1,106
 1,100
 1,062
 1,035
 1,078


 Western Isles
 263
 219
 216
 212
 172


 Scotland 
 18,393
 18,979
 18,343
 19,594
 20,433



  Source: Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland.

  Notes:

  *Numbers have not been shown where these are potentially disclosive.

  1. The totals for the number of people admitted in each health board may not match the Scotland totals; an individual is counted only once in the Scotland total but may appear in more than one health board of treatment.

  2. Excludes psychiatric hospital units and maternity hospitals. Transfers have also been excluded.

  3. Caution is necessary when interpreting these figures, as the recording of alcohol misuse may vary from hospital to hospital; where alcohol misuse is suspected but unconfirmed it may not be recorded by the hospital.

  4. Diseases recorded using the International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD10); mental and behavioural disorders associated with alcohol use: F10.

  5. Up to six diagnosis codes can be recorded. All six diagnostic positions have been used when classifying patients with the diagnosis.

  6. Figures in the table only relate to those individuals who are treated as inpatients and do not include individuals managed as outpatients or individuals attending accident and emergency who are not subsequently admitted.

  7. Data for 2003-04 to 2007-08 is based on revised alcohol codings; data for 2007-08 is provisional.

Asylum Seekers

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken since May 2007 to disperse asylum seekers from Glasgow to other local authority areas.

Alex Neil: Glasgow is the only local authority in Scotland which has a contract with the UK Border Agency to accommodate asylum seekers, therefore no action can be taken by the Scottish Government to disperse asylum seekers from Glasgow to other local authority areas.

Child Welfare

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken in response to the 2009 Child Safety Report Card for Scotland, which rated Scotland’s overall performance in relation to child safety as fair.

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it is delivering to promote and advance child home safety.

Nicola Sturgeon: In responding to the 2009 Report Card, the Scottish Government considers development of a clear and robust evidence base on childhood injuries to be a priority. It has therefore commissioned and funded an unintentional injuries data collection pilot in order to assess the current level and quality of data collected. This pilot will help flag up perceived gaps in data collection. Further work may be necessary in collating and analysing accident data before taking targeted action in order to reduce the number of unintentional injuries in children.

  We also published Good Places, Better Health: A New approach to the Environment and Health in Scotland in December 2008. This project is a collaboration led by health interests and ranging over policy interests across the Scottish Government as well as external stakeholders with an interest in unintentional injury and accident prevention, particularly among children.

Child Welfare

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what child accident prevention-related initiatives it is (a) delivering and (b) planning.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government is taking forward a number of cross-cutting policies to address the issue of child accident prevention. In December 2008, it published Good Places, Better Health: A New approach to the Environment and Health in Scotland. This project, stemming from the Strategic Framework for Environment and Health in Scotland, is a collaboration led by health interests and ranging over policy interests across the Scottish Government as well as external stakeholders with an interest in unintentional injury and accident prevention, particularly among children. This project has attracted attention within Scotland and in the wider EU.

  Through this project, Scotland is being recognised as a country taking an innovative approach to national policy-making, connecting the environment to better health and well-being.

  Other initiatives include Equally Well, which recognises the importance of children’s earliest years and how critical they are to their future development. The inequalities which are experienced by some parents and their lifestyles, including drug and alcohol use, can significantly harm their children. In order to give every child in Scotland the best possible chance of experiencing a long and happy life, the most vulnerable children and their families need to be given the support to improve their physical and mental health and their life prospects. Those most vulnerable children also need to be supported as they move into and through education to ensure that they are given an equal chance of progressing through school and onto further education.

  Starting Well was the national health demonstration project for early years. Established in Glasgow in 2000, initially for a three-year period, as a flagship initiative flowing from the white paper Towards a Healthier Scotland, it aimed to act as a test bed for action and a learning resource for the rest of Scotland. Starting Well aimed to demonstrate that child health in Glasgow could be improved by a programme of activities that both supported families and provided them with access to enhanced community-based resources.

  In 2003, Improving Health in Scotland: The Challenge signalled the Scottish Executive’s commitment to a second phase of Starting Well. Phase Two was launched in spring 2005 – it ended its demonstration period at the end of March 2006. It has been independently evaluated and the learning is being shared across Scotland through NHS Health Scotland.

  Through Road Safety Scotland, the Scottish Government is delivering a cohesive and coordinated suite of educational resources for children in Scottish schools, as well as road safety publicity campaigns and materials.

  With respect to planning, on 15 June 2009 the Scottish Government published Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2020. The framework sets new targets for child road casualty reduction and details the commitments to deliver the framework over the next decade. The range of commitments include: scrutinising the circumstances of each child road fatality and reporting to Scottish ministers with recommendations for action; funding Road Safety Scotland to develop innovative road safety educational resources; undertaking an audit of our road safety education resources to ensure that they address the specific issues which Scotland’s child road casualty record presents; commissioning new research to investigate the links between road safety and disadvantaged children and those in ethnic minority groups; continuing to support the use of school travel plans, fully involving the local community, through grant funding to Sustrans School Run Team and cycle training resources from Road Safety Scotland and Cycling Scotland; and investigating reporting and implementing ways to enhance school children’s safety when getting on and off school buses.

  The Concordat between Scottish Government and local government provides an opportunity for local authorities and partners to be given greater autonomy to deliver their services more effectively, including the health and wellbeing of children and young people.

  Single Outcome Agreements (SOAs) have been forged between Scottish Government and each local authority. From 2009-10, all SOAs will cover the range of community planning partnership responsibilities.

Child Welfare

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive which of its directorates is responsible for leading on child injury prevention-related issues.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Health Directorate have lead responsibility for coordinating responses on a range of issues related to unintentional childhood injury and has established a pilot, through Information Services Division (ISD), to look at data that is collected from accident and emergency departments (A&E) in order to establish the main causes of accidents, although other parts of government have a responsibility for taking forward specific strands of work, for example in relation to road accidents.

  The pilot is expected to report back later this autumn. Once this information is available the Scottish Government will consider the data available and whether further work may be necessary in collating and analysing accident data before taking targeted action in order to reduce the number of unintentional injury (if appropriate).

Child Welfare

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it makes available to support national child injury prevention and safety programmes.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government provides funding from the Health and Justice Directorates to support national child injury prevention and safety programmes, which promote the Scottish Government’s overarching objectives of keeping the people of Scotland healthier, safer, and stronger.

Child Welfare

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it makes available for the promotion and advancement of child home safety.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government provides funding from the Health and Justice Directorates to promote a range of child home safety initiatives, which underpins the Scottish Government’s overarching objectives of keeping the people of Scotland healthier, safer and stronger.

Child Welfare

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under 15 were admitted to hospital as a result of unintentional injuries incurred on the road in (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008.

Nicola Sturgeon: The number of hospital admissions as a result of unintentional injury caused by a road traffic accident (RTA), for children aged 0-14, for year of discharge ending 31 March 2006 to 2008, are shown in the following table:

  

 Year
 Number of Admissions


 2005-06
 707


 2006-07
 648


 2007-08
 463



  Source: Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland. These statistics are based on data collected on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (Scottish Morbidity Record 01, SMR01). Patient injury categories are identified in SMR01 by admission codes 32-35. Category 32 is used to describe road traffic accidents (RTA’s).

Child Welfare

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under 15 presented at hospital accident and emergency departments with unintentional injuries incurred on the road in (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008.

Nicola Sturgeon: Data relating to patient age and the reason for attendance at accident and emergency (A&E) departments are not centrally available.

Child Welfare

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under 15 were admitted to hospital as a result of unintentional injuries incurred in the home in (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008.

Nicola Sturgeon: The number of hospital admissions, as a result of unintentional injury incurred in the home, for children aged 0-14, for year of discharge year ending 31 March, are shown in the following table:

  

 Year
 Number of Admissions


 2005-06
 3,573


 2006-07
 3,472


 2007-08
 3,148



  Source: Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland. These statistics are based on data collected on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (Scottish Morbidity Record 01, SMR01). Patient injury categories are identified in SMR01 by admission codes 32-35. Category 33 is used to describe injuries that occur in the home.

Child Welfare

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under 15 presented at hospital accident and emergency departments with unintentional injuries incurred in the home in (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008.

Nicola Sturgeon: Data relating to patient age and their reason for attendance at accident and emergency (A&E) departments are not centrally available.

Child Welfare

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under 15 were admitted to hospital with unintentional injuries not incurred on the road or in the home in (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008 and how and where these injuries were incurred.

Nicola Sturgeon: The number of admissions to hospital for children under 15 as a result of an unintentional injury that took place neither in the home nor on the road, is shown in the following tables by the cause of injury and by place of occurrence.

  Table 1. Number of Hospital Admissions, Resulting from Unintentional Injury Incurred Neither in the Home nor on the Road, for Children Aged 0-14, by Cause of Injury, for Year of Discharge Year Ending 31 March 2006 to 2008.

  

 Cause of Injury
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08


 Transport Accidents
 536
 528
 522


 Falls
 3,466
 3,387
 3,242


 Exposure to inanimate mechanical forces
 919
 821
 803


 Exposure to animate mechanical forces
 321
 309
 304


 Accidental drowning and submersion
 3
 6
 4


 Other accidental threats to breathing
 13
 8
 10


 Exposure to smoke, fire and flames
 24
 19
 12


 Contact with heat and hot substances
 21
 22
 27


 Contact with venomous animals and plants
 8
 14
 9


 Accidental poisoning by and exposure to noxious substances
 117
 126
 110


 Overexertion, travel and privation
 31
 14
 23


 Accidental exposure to other and unspecified factors
 270
 280
 403


 Assault
 169
 164
 134


 Other/unknown
 47
 42
 36


 Total
 5,945
 5,740
 5,639



  Source: Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland.

  Notes:

  These statistics are based on data collected on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (Scottish Morbidity Record 01, SMR01). Patient injury categories that do not occur in the home or on the road are identified in SMR01 by selecting admission codes 34 and 35. Categories of cause of injury are based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), codes V01-X59, X85-Y09. Other/unknown category includes cases where there was no recorded external cause code, or the external cause code did not fall into one of the main categories.

  Table 2. Numbers of Hospital Admissions as a Result of Unintentional Injuries That Occurred Neither in the Home nor on the Road, for Children Aged 0-14 by Place of Occurrence, for Year of Discharge Year Ending 31 March 2006 to 2008.

  

 Place of Occurrence
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08


 Home
 49
 51
 57


 Residential institution
 24
 12
 16


 School, other institution and public administrative area
 621
 571
 508


 Sports and athletics area
 476
 438
 411


 Street and highway
 210
 205
 156


 Trade and service area
 68
 85
 68


 Industrial and construction area
 4
 6
 5


 Farm
 18
 8
 7


 Other specified places
 467
 423
 325


 Unspecified place
 3,437
 3,383
 3,540


 Total
 5,374
 5,182
 5,093



  Source: Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland.

  Notes:

  These statistics are based on data collected on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (Scottish Morbidity Record 01, SMR01). ICD-10 codes W00-X59, X85-Y09 may include a fourth digit that describes place of occurrence and therefore only these codes have been included in this analysis. Patient injury categories that are neither home injuries nor road traffic accidents are identified in SMR01 by selecting admission codes 34 and 35.

Child Welfare

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what the process is for the collation, storage and dissemination of child unintentional injury data.

Nicola Sturgeon: The SMR (Scottish Mortality Record) national database holds data on children admitted to Scottish hospitals. SMR records data on unintentional injuries, defined by admission code and/or international classification of disease (ICD10) diagnosis codes. Validated SMR data is collected via hospital patient management systems and submitted electronically across a secure network to Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland, where it is stored in the national database.

  Data relating to unintentional injuries in children is published as part of ISD’s annual unintentional injuries national statistics publication: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/3066.html.

  Data is also disseminated on an ad-hoc basis in accordance with ISD’s information request protocol.

Child Welfare

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what data it has that disaggregates children with unintentional injuries by (a) age, (b) gender, (c) race, (d) socioeconomic status, (e) family circumstance, (f) geographic location and (g) other relevant characteristics.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has funded a pilot in order to assess the current level and quality of data collected on unintentional injuries in selected Scottish accident and emergency departments as it has been agreed that the Health Directorate will lead on coordinating information on unintentional injury.

  The pilot will be used to see whether it is necessary to enhance the data being collected. The pilot is expected to report back later this autumn. The results will help inform any perceived gaps in data, which should help influence delivery and planning of any future initiatives.

  Information Services Division (ISD) has published data on unintentional injuries up to 31 March 2008, disaggregated by age, gender, NHS board, Community Health Partnerships (CHP) and deprivation level (SIMD quintile). These figures are available at

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/5867.html and http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/1144.html.

Civil Servants

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the legally qualified establishment is of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and how many of these posts were filled in each of the last five years.

Frank Mulholland: The information requested is set out below for each of the last four years. It is not possible to provide information prior to 2006 since the information was not held in this form.

  

 Reference Date
 Budgeted Posts
 Staff Employed
 Vacancies
 Absences


 31/03/09
 461.8
 451.2
 10.6
 25.6


 31/03/08
 426
 411.8
 14.2
 15.8


 31/03/07
 420.6
 409.8
 10.8
 19.2


 31/03/06
 423.9
 404.8
 19.1
 10.8

Civil Servants

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) vacancies and (b) long-term or maternity leave absences there were in (i) procurator fiscal and (ii) depute procurator fiscal posts in each of the last five years, broken down by sheriff court.

Frank Mulholland: The information set out in the following tables identifies vacancies and absences at the specific dates, broken down by Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) Area since staffing of COPFS is not structured by sheriff court area. There are a variety of legal grades and post titles apart from procurator fiscal and depute procurator fiscal and the information is provided in relation to all legal grades. Area and district procurators fiscal vacancies are not included, since steps are always taken to cover these posts in the absence of the post-holder. It is not possible to provide information prior to 2006 since the information is not held in this form.

  31 March 2009

  

 Area
 Vacancies
 Absences


 Argyll and Clyde
 2.4
 0


 Ayrshire
 0.1
 1


 Central
 1.4
 0


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1
 0


 Fife
 2
 0.6


 Glasgow
 1.3
 7


 Grampian
 2
 1


 Highland and Islands
 1
 0


 Lanarkshire
 0.2
 2


 Lothian and Borders
 2
 2


 Tayside
 0
 3.6


 Crown Office
 0
 8.5



  1 April 2008

  

 Area
 Vacancies
 Absences


 Argyll and Clyde
 1.2
 0


 Ayrshire
 2
 1


 Central
 0
 1.4


 Dumfries and Galloway
 0
 0


 Fife
 0.4
 1


 Glasgow
 3.9
 2.4


 Grampian
 2.4
 0


 Highland and Islands
 0
 0


 Lanarkshire
 1.1
 2


 Lothian and Borders
 2.4
 2


 Tayside
 1
 1


 Crown Office
 0
 5



  1 April 2007

  

 Area
 Vacancies
 Absences


 Argyll and Clyde
 1
 2


 Ayrshire
 0.5
 2


 Central
 1
 2


 Dumfries and Galloway
 0
 0


 Fife
 1.4
 0


 Glasgow
 5
 4.6


 Grampian
 3
 2


 Highland and Islands
 0
 0


 Lanarkshire
 2.5
 0.9


 Lothian and Borders
 2
 0


 Tayside
 0
 2


 Crown Office
 0
 3.7



  1 April 2006

  

 Area
 Vacancies
 Absences


 Argyll and Clyde
 2.5
 0


 Ayrshire
 1.1
 0


 Central
 0
 2.4


 Dumfries and Galloway
 0.5
 0


 Fife
 0.5
 0


 Glasgow
 2.4
 3.4


 Grampian
 2
 1


 Highland and Islands
 0
 0


 Lanarkshire
 2.5
 2


 Lothian and Borders
 1.6
 0.4


 Tayside
 0
 1


 Crown Office
 0
 0.6

Civil Servants

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the rate of turnover was in procurator fiscal legal staff in each of the last five years.

Frank Mulholland: The information requested is set out in the following table for each of the last four years. It is not possible to provide information prior to 2006 since the information was not held in this form.

  

 Reference Date
 Turnover


 01/04/08 – 31/03/09 
 3.39%


 01/04/07 – 31/03/08
 7.85%


 01/04/06 – 31/03/07
 5.65%


 01/04/05 – 31/03/06
 3.89%

Crime

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive in how many cases reported to the police in which the accused was aged (a) 16 or 17 and (b) under 16 the decision had not yet been made about whether to prosecute in the criminal courts as of 12 June 2009.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

  The Scottish Government does not hold individualised data on any crimes or offences recorded by the eight police forces in Scotland, and as such does not hold information on the age of perpetrators of crimes or any decision made relating to prosecution. Further to this, information on crimes recorded by the police is returned to the Scottish Government on a quarterly basis. As a result, no information is currently held on crimes recorded for the period in question.

  In relation to deciding whether a child is to be prosecuted, if a child under the age of 16 is reported to Procurators Fiscal in line with the Lord Advocate Guidelines to the Chief Constables in relation to the reporting of offences alleged to have been committed by children, Procurators Fiscal require to liaise with the Scottish Children’s Reporter Authority (SCRA). There is a presumption in favour of such cases being dealt with by SCRA and proceedings in a criminal court are only taken where there are compelling reasons in the public interest to do so and require the instructions of Crown Counsel or the Lord Advocate.

  Where a child is between the age of 16 and 17 and is under supervision, the presumption is in favour of such cases being dealt with by the Procurator Fiscal and they should only be referred to SCRA where there are compelling reasons in the public interest to do so. In the case of a person of 16 years or over who is not on supervision, the Reporter has no authority to deal with them and they fall to be dealt with by the Procurator Fiscal.

Dairy Industry

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-24713 by Richard Lochhead on 19 June 2009, when the milk quota arrangements that affect Kintyre were last amended and who was consulted.

Richard Lochhead: Boundary changes to the Southern Isles milk quota ring fence area, including the Kintyre peninsula, were introduced by the Dairy Produce Quotas (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2004 (SI 2004 No. 118).

  A copy of the consultation list is available from the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre (Bib. number 48574).

Dairy Industry

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-24714 by Richard Lochhead on 19 June 2009, whether a public interest test is applied to decisions on milk quota and what the criteria are of any such test.

Richard Lochhead: In Scotland the policy on the establishment and maintenance of the ring fence arrangements was and is subject to a public interest test; the overarching principle of such a test being to safeguard the long-term future interests and viability of the dairy industry in the ring-fenced areas.

Dairy Industry

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-24714 by Richard Lochhead on 19 June 2009, how a majority of active producers, processors and their representative bodies is determined.

Richard Lochhead: There are long-established arrangements in place for canvassing the views of the Scottish dairy industry before proposed changes to the milk quota regime are introduced. Ministers take account of all these views before making decisions on the way ahead.

Dentistry

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time equivalent dentists have been employed in the General Dental Service in each of the last three years, also broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the full-time equivalent of staff working in the NHS general dental service is not available, as the working hours of each dentist are not collected.

  Head count information, broken down by NHS board, is available and can be accessed at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/5898.html.

Diabetes

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many diabetes specialist nurses trained in the use of insulin pump therapy are employed in each NHS board area.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not centrally available. However, taken from nationally published data, the following table provides the number of clinical nurse specialists in diabetes employed in each NHS board, expressed in head count and whole-time equivalents, as at 30 September 2008.

  

 Clinical Nurse Specialists in Diabetes by NHS Board
 Whole-Time Equivalent as at 30 September 2008
 Head Count as at 30 September 2008


 NHS Ayrshire and Arran
 7.4
 8


 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 25.1
 27


 NHS Lanarkshire
 8.9
 11


 NHS Forth Valley
 5.2
 7


 NHS Dumfries and Galloway
 4.4
 5


 NHS Borders
 2.2
 3


 NHS Fife
 5.6
 6


 NHS Lothian
 10.7
 13


 NHS Highland
 1.5
 2


 NHS Grampian
 5.0
 7


 NHS Orkney
 -
 -


 NHS Tayside
 8.5
 10


 NHS Western Isles
 2.0
 3


 NHS Shetland
 -
 -


 Total
 *86.4
 102



  Source: Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland. Website link - www.isdscotland.org/workforce.

  Note: *Please note the overall total is not equal to the NHS boards value due to rounding.

Education

Elizabeth Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools will offer the science baccalaureate in the 2010-11 academic year.

Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-23545 on 19 May 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Fisheries

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, given discontent at the lack of available days at sea and notwithstanding the changes that came into force on 1 May 2009, whether it plans to challenge the underlying European regulation in order to make more days at sea available to Scottish fishermen.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government has been working closely with the fishing industry to maximise the days at sea available in 2009 to Scottish fishing vessels, while also ensuring that progress continues in building the sustainability of our cod and other important fish stocks.

  The EU regulations governing the days at sea regime – 1342/2008 and 43/2009 – set the maximum allowable fishing effort for member states’ fleets for the period 1 February 2009 to 31 January 2010. Our efforts are being devoted to secure a fair deal in the forthcoming negotiations to take account of a scientific assessment of our conservation buy backs and the socio-economic needs of the industry.

Fisheries

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the inclusion of representatives from fish conservation groups on inshore fisheries groups.

Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-22757 on 8 May 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Health

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has consulted on the use of routine post mortem testing for mercury and aluminium traces as a useful way of aggregating evidence in relation to the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and, if so, what the responses were.

Nicola Sturgeon: No. We have not consulted on this.

  To ensure a coordinated approach to dementia research in Scotland we launched the Dementia Clinical Research Network in August 2008 with funding of over £1 million over three years.

Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths have been caused by the adverse effects of drugs and medicines in therapeutic use in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: Table 1. Deaths where the Underlying Cause was the Adverse Effects of Drugs and Medicines in Therapeutic Use - by NHS Board Area and Year

  

 NHS Board
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005
 2006
 2007
 2008


 Ayrshire and Arran
 4
 1
 3
 1
 2
 1
 1
 2
 3
 0


 Borders
 0
 0
 0
 0
 3
 1
 0
 2
 2
 1


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1
 0
 0
 1
 0
 0
 3
 1
 1
 0


 Fife 
 2
 4
 4
 0
 0
 0
 2
 1
 3
 1


 Forth Valley 
 2
 1
 1
 0
 2
 2
 3
 0
 2
 2


 Grampian
 4
 1
 4
 1
 0
 4
 3
 3
 1
 5


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 4
 6
 8
 6
 3
 2
 6
 4
 4
 5


 Highland 
 2
 2
 2
 2
 3
 1
 3
 0
 0
 1


 Lanarkshire
 1
 1
 0
 2
 3
 2
 0
 6
 5
 1


 Lothian
 2
 5
 5
 8
 4
 4
 4
 2
 3
 3


 Orkney
 1
 0
 0
 0
 0
 1
 0
 1
 0
 0


 Shetland
 1
 0
 1
 0
 0
 1
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Tayside
 2
 4
 1
 5
 4
 1
 1
 2
 0
 3


 Western Isles
 0
 1
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Scotland
 26
 26
 29
 26
 24
 20
 26
 24
 24
 22



  Source: General Registry Office Scotland. The figures given are the numbers of deaths coded for the adverse effects of drugs and medicines in therapeutic use. These figures do not include deaths involving drugs and medicines in other ways, for example deaths caused by drug abuse, accidental poisoning, or intentional self-poisoning. Figures for 2008 are provisional.

Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths in under-18s have been caused by the adverse effects of drugs and medicines in therapeutic use in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: Between 1999 and 2008 there was only one death in persons aged 17 or under, where the underlying cause was adverse effects of drugs and medicines in therapeutic use. This occurred in 1999 in the Grampian NHS board area.

Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been admitted to hospital with anaphylactic shock in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the number of people admitted to NHS hospitals in Scotland with a main diagnosis of anaphylactic shock in each of the last 10 financial years is shown in the following table.

  Table 1. People Admitted to NHS Hospitals in Scotland with a Main Diagnosis of Anaphylactic Shock, Financial Years Ending 31 March

  

 NHS Board of Treatment
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005
 2006
 2007
 2008


 Ayrshire and Arran
 14
 22
 18
 23
 30
 14
 26
 30
 38
 30


 Borders
 6
 13
 10
 6
 7
 4
 17
 16
 17
 14


 Dumfries and Galloway
 7
 4
 6
 3
 2
 9
 3
 10
 6
 14


 Fife 
 9
 14
 13
 16
 8
 9
 23
 22
 29
 16


 Forth Valley 
 5
 17
 14
 17
 16
 19
 31
 14
 15
 32


 Grampian
 28
 20
 22
 25
 38
 38
 33
 46
 40
 55


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 53
 66
 69
 75
 75
 57
 71
 86
 93
 123


 Highland 
 20
 9
 14
 14
 20
 27
 35
 37
 27
 24


 Lanarkshire
 14
 15
 14
 18
 23
 19
 25
 33
 19
 17


 Lothian
 57
 51
 64
 61
 55
 41
 57
 55
 62
 78


 Orkney
 -
 1
 1
 2
 1
 1
 1
 -
 -
 -


 Shetland
 1
 1
 3
 3
 2
 1
 2
 2
 2
 6


 Tayside
 25
 34
 39
 35
 21
 28
 24
 29
 38
 27


 Western Isles
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -
 6
 7
 7
 8
 3


 NHS Scotland
 239
 267
 287
 299
 298
 273
 355
 387
 394
 439



  Source: Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland. "–" indicates zero cases.

Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been admitted to hospital with anaphylactic shock following an adverse reaction to drugs and medicines in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the number of people admitted to NHS hospitals in Scotland with a diagnosis of anaphylactic shock following an adverse reaction to drugs or medicine in each of the last 10 financial years is shown in the following table.

  Table 1. People Admitted to NHS Hospitals in Scotland with a Main Diagnosis of Anaphylactic Shock Following an Adverse Reaction to Drugs or Medicine, Financial Years Ending 31 March

  

 NHS Board of Treatment
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005
 2006
 2007
 2008


 Ayrshire and Arran
 4
 5
 6
 4
 6
 2
 6
 3
 4
 4


 Borders
 1
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -
 -
 1
 -
 -


 Dumfries and Galloway
 3
 2
 2
 -
 -
 3
 -
 1
 2
 2


 Fife 
 3
 4
 3
 2
 1
 1
 3
 4
 3
 4


 Forth Valley 
 -
 3
 3
 3
 2
 4
 8
 2
 2
 5


 Grampian
 7
 4
 4
 3
 5
 5
 5
 5
 8
 6


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 10
 12
 9
 14
 18
 8
 17
 12
 8
 19


 Highland 
 3
 1
 -
 3
 2
 1
 5
 5
 1
 4


 Lanarkshire
 5
 -
 2
 -
 2
 1
 2
 1
 -
 1


 Lothian
 13
 8
 11
 9
 6
 7
 10
 6
 3
 11


 Orkney
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Shetland
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -
 -
 1
 -
 1
 2


 Tayside
 -
 1
 6
 6
 1
 7
 5
 4
 4
 5


 Western Isles
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 NHS Scotland
 49
 40
 46
 46
 44
 39
 62
 44
 36
 63



  Source: Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland. "-" indicates zero cases.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what aspects are being examined in its review of the Healthy Working Lives strategy.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government’s review of the Healthy Working Lives Strategy includes updating the original plan for action and will take account of the current economic and employment conditions. The review is taking into account robust evidence on the benefits of work for health, as well as effective interventions recommended in Dame Carol Black’s 2008 review of working age health.

  It is intended that the updated Healthy Working Lives Strategy will be published by the end of 2009.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the most common occurrences of work-related ill health are.

Nicola Sturgeon: This data is not held centrally.

  However, the labour force survey of self-reported work-related illness carried out in 2007-08 estimated that, in Scotland, 113,000 people who worked in the last 12 months suffered from an illness which they believe was caused or made worse by work. Musculoskeletal disorders and stress were the most commonly reported.

  These are Scottish figures that have been taken from a Great Britain wide survey.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what aspects of nurse training deal with hospital-acquired infection, hand washing, barrier nursing and infection control; whether this training is provided to all new nurses, and whether new procedures are rolled out to the entire workforce.

Nicola Sturgeon: The key Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) training programme for all NHS staff, new and established, is the Cleanliness Champions programme - a comprehensive national programme which provides staff with the knowledge and understanding of why it is important to follow certain principles and procedures in the healthcare environment; and to recognise infection risks and the action that is appropriate – including hand hygiene. Cleanliness Champions act as role models for others to influence their behaviour in their workplace. To date, over 5,800 nurses have completed the programme.

  Standard 5 of the recently revised NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) Standards requires all NHS boards to develop an action plan to deliver on the national strategy for HAI education and training and to ensure that nationally and locally identified priority areas for HAI education are addressed. All NHS boards are assessed against these standards, both in terms of organisational structures and compliance with HAI policies.

  The national HAI strategy on HAI education and training is itself contained in Delivery Area 2 of the Scottish Government’s three-year HAI Task Force Delivery Plan which sets out the 13 HAI-related education and training work packages that are being developed for the NHS over the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. NHS Education for Scotland (NES) lead on this section of the HAI Task Force Delivery Plan with input and assistance from key stakeholders including Health Protection Scotland, NHS QIS and Health Facilities Scotland. The link to the HAI Delivery Plan is:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/03/07110818/1.

Housing

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that more affordable housing is available in rural Scotland.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government supports increases in affordable rural housing in a number of ways:

  In 2009-10, £145.82 million of the Affordable Housing Investment Programme will be spent in rural Scotland. This is a 20% increase from 2008-09 and will provide 1,464 affordable new homes in rural Scotland.

  This will be complemented by £3.03 million that has been awarded to local authorities to kick-start a council house building programme, providing a further 121 new affordable homes in rural Scotland.

  In addition, the Home Owners’ Support Fund and Shared Equity Open Market Pilot are also available in rural Scotland. As these are demand led programmes the locations are not predetermined.

  The Scottish Government has also undertaken a review of rural housing grants. Proposals are now being developed for an improved and enhanced suite of grants, and announcements on the proposed changes will be made later this year.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households have applied to the mortgage to shared equity scheme in each month since its inception.

Alex Neil: Applications for assistance are made to the Home Owners’ Support Fund, and it is only after initial checks have been carried out that it is determined whether an applicant will be considered for the mortgage to rent (MTR) or mortgage to shared equity scheme (MTSE).

  Since the inception of MTSE, five households have been eligible for consideration for the scheme. Two have replied to say they wished to be considered for MTR instead and the remaining three have still to reply.

Marine Environment

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with UK ministers regarding the designation of the whole of the Solway Firth north and south of the border with England as a single Marine Planning Area and whether this would be possible under the provisions of the Marine and Coastal Access Bill and the Marine (Scotland) Bill.

Richard Lochhead: The possibility of planning for the Solway Firth as a single entity has been discussed with UK Government officials. Under the Bills, marine planning regions are defined by reference to the marine borders applying between the UK Government and the devolved administrations. Under the Marine and Coastal Access Bill, marine plan authorities may identify and prepare marine plans for "marine plan areas" within these regions, although these areas are not prescribed in the Bill. It is intended that an administrative approach will be identified to ensure that the planning bodies either side of the Solway Firth work jointly to ensure a consistent and holistic approach.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to identify, diagnose and treat older people with depression (a) at home and (b) in care homes.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government is committed to providing appropriate care and treatment to all of those who experience depression, including ensuring early identification and diagnosis.

  We recognise that a large proportion of people in all age ranges with depression remain undiagnosed, so we continue to work with partners on campaigns to end stigma around mental ill-health and to encourage those in need of help to seek it.

  Activity on clinical identification, diagnosis and treatment across age ranges includes ensuring care pathways standards; increasing access to psychological therapies and reducing the reliance on antidepressants; and improving screening for depression for those with diabetes and coronary heart disease.

  The GP contract has been enhanced in recent years to improve detection and treatment of depression, and follow-up care. Some health boards in Scotland have locally enhanced services in place to deliver health care services to people in care homes, tailored to specific needs such as monitoring of medication. We are working with NHS Education for Scotland specifically on the issue of delivering psychological therapies for older people, including a particular focus on delivery to those housebound and in care homes.

  On mental health promotion and prevention of common mental health problems such as depression, we have funded NHS Health Scotland to work with partners, such as Age Concern Scotland and the Mental Health Foundation, to address mental health in later life. Work focuses on research to underpin health promoting activities with older people and to disseminate the learning from research; building older people’s capacity to engage in mental health-promoting activity at local, regional and national level; and developing information resources.

Mental Health

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address mental health problems in black and ethnic minority communities and what funding has been allocated specifically to this issue.

Nicola Sturgeon: Scottish Government funds health boards and local authorities to provide equal mental health services to all communities and groups within Scotland. In addition we fund a national and strategic race equality mental health programme within NHS Health Scotland to develop better understanding of, and to address the particular mental health needs of Scotland’s black and minority ethnic communities. £90,000 is provided each year from 2008 to 2011 to support projects, practitioners’ networks and initiatives designed to promote good practice and challenge issues and barriers. Within this programme the Scottish Government also funds two local projects within primary care mental health services (NHS Lothian and NHS Glasgow) to support black and minority ethnic communities. These projects will each receive £200,000 between 2008 and 2011.

NHS Hospitals

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what finance it will make available to NHS Lothian to fund the building of the new Royal Hospital for Sick Children and what percentage of the total cost this represents.

Nicola Sturgeon: The funding assumptions contained within NHS Lothian’s outline business case for the new Royal Hospital for Sick Children and the board’s capital plan will continue to be reviewed as planning of the new hospital develops and in light of the next spending review.

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Physicians of Glasgow with regard to implications for training of surgeons arising from the European working time directive.

Nicola Sturgeon: Last month, in response to a letter from to the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland, Dr Kevin Woods, Director-General Health, wrote inviting them to a meeting to address a number of issues surrounding the impending working time regulation compliance deadline for junior doctors. The academy accepted the invitation and the meeting took place on 9 July 2009.

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued to ensure that junior doctors are not contracted for additional hours beyond the 48 hours allowed under the European working time directive, either as part of a core contract or under a separate contract.

Nicola Sturgeon: Scottish Government has the role of supporting NHS boards to achieve compliance with the working time regulations (WTR). This has included issuing guidance applying to junior doctors, which reminds employers of the requirements of the working time regulations, including:

  MEL 1999(1) Working Time Regulations Implementation in NHS Scotland.

  HDL 2003/3 Working Time Regulations.

  HEL 2004/34 Meeting the requirements of the Working Time Regulations: Doctors in Training.

  CEL 14 2009 Working Time Regulation Compliance Guidance.

  In addition to publishing guidance, the Scottish Government has a dedicated WTR adviser who is working with NHS boards, providing advice, support and technical help around achieving the limits of the WTR.

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that junior doctors with full-time NHS contracts are not employed as locums to fill gaps in rotas.

Nicola Sturgeon: It is the responsibility of NHS boards, as employers, to ensure that any staff engaged in locum, bank or overtime work do not work outside the legal limits of the working time regulations. Individuals also have a responsibility for ensuring that they do not volunteer for extra duty which is likely to mean they breach the legal requirements and which will make them over-tired for normal duty.

NHS Staff

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of junior doctors in each NHS board area has reached compliance with the European working time directive.

Nicola Sturgeon: At the end of May 2009, the percentage of junior doctors, by NHS board, who were already compliant with the Working Time Regulations 1 August 2009 target of an average of 48 hours a week is detailed in the following table.

  NHS boards are providing Scottish Government with their figures on a monthly basis. The Working Time Regulations Adviser is working closely with NHS boards to review their action plans for compliance to ensure they are robust enough to enable them to achieve full compliance by the August deadline.

  

 NHS Scotland
 May 2009 % Compliant with 48 Hour Target


 NHS Tayside
 50


 NHS Highland
 46


 NHS Grampian
 47


 NHS Orkney
 100


 NHS Shetland
 55


 NHS Western Isles
 0


 NHS Borders
 27


 The State Hospital
 100


 NHS Forth Valley
 54


 NHS GG&C
 86


 NHS Lanarkshire
 63


 NHS Dumfries & Galloway
 46


 NHS Ayrshire & Arran
 21


 NHS Lothian
 69


 NHS Fife
 50


 NHS National Health Services
 100


 Golden Jubilee National Hospital
 62


 NHS Scotland Total
 64



  The total NHS Scotland projected figure for Working Time Regulation compliance by 1 August is around 94%.

Occupational Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what occupational health services are available through the NHS to employees in the (a) public and (b) private sector, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: This data is not held centrally. It is for NHS boards to determine the services they provide to meet local demand for their area, including occupational health services.

  The Scottish Government is funding three vocational rehabilitation pilot projects, delivered by NHS Tayside, NHS Lothian and NHS Borders, which provides a service that is targeted at employees of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) that do not have access to in-house occupational health services, to assist them back into the workplace. The pilots are intended to end in March 2010.

Occupational Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what fast-track access is available to rehabilitation services to assist employees back to the workplace.

Nicola Sturgeon: There is a wide range of rehabilitation services available through the NHS in Scotland. The value of these services are underpinned in the Delivery Framework for Adult Rehabilitation in Scotland.

  Additionally, many employers provide access to occupational health and rehabilitation services for their employees.

  The Scottish Government is funding three vocational rehabilitation pilot projects, delivered by NHS Tayside, NHS Lothian and NHS Borders, which provides a service that is targeted at employees of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) that do not have access to in-house occupational health services, to assist them back into the workplace. The pilots are intended to end in March 2010.

Occupational Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS boards provide occupational health services to private sector employees.

Nicola Sturgeon: This data is not held centrally. It is for NHS boards to determine the services they provide to meet local demand for their area, including occupational health services.

  The Scottish Government is funding three vocational rehabilitation pilot projects, delivered by NHS Tayside, NHS Lothian and NHS Borders, which provides a service that is targeted at employees of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) that do not have access to in-house occupational health services, to assist them back into the workplace. The pilots are intended to end in March 2010.

Occupational Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the NHS is doing to promote good health in the workplace.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government provides funding for the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives to promote and develop good workplace practices and procedures that promote health and wellbeing.

  The centre offers advice to all employers and employees through a website and confidential phone lines, and a network of NHS based advisors provide site visits to small to medium enterprises.

  The centre runs the Healthy Working Lives (HWL) Award programme, recognising and rewarding good workplace practice. Currently almost 500 organisations hold the award, with another 1000 working towards an award.

  In 2009 the Scottish Government launched a new £1.5 million Working Well Challenge Fund for NHS Scotland. This is in response to growing recognition that to maintain a world-class workforce, NHSScotland must focus proactively on promoting the health and wellbeing of its staff.

  In addition, support for NHS employees is available through Occupational Health and Safety Extra (OHSxtra), an NHS service designed to help health service employees who are experiencing ongoing health and welfare problems to get support and treatment that will help them to return to work or avoid taking sick leave. The service is intended to complement rather than replace the existing NHS occupational health services. Details can be found online on the staff governance website at:

  http://www.staffgovernance.scot.nhs.uk/improving-employee-experience/working-well/occupational-health-and-safety-extra-ohsxtra/.

Occupational Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what legal obligations employers have to ensure that employees have access to an occupational health service to help facilitate a return to work following illness or disability and to reduce the impact of ill health in the workplace.

Nicola Sturgeon: Workplace health and safety legislation is reserved to the UK Government.

  There is a duty on employers to provide access to health surveillance to employees but only appropriate surveillance considering the risks identified by any risk assessment. In addition, there is an implied duty on employers to take reasonable care for the health and safety of their employees at work.

Occupational Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to Council Directive 89/391/EEC, whether there is a legal requirement on employers in Scotland to provide access to occupational health services.

Nicola Sturgeon: European Council Directive 89/391/EEC is given effect in Scotland through health and safety regulations which are reserved to the UK Government.

  There is a duty on employers to provide access to health surveillance to employees but only appropriate surveillance considering the risks identified by any risk assessment. In addition, there is an implied duty on employers to take reasonable care for the health and safety of their employees at work.

Osteoporosis

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many GP practices in each NHS board have signed up to the osteoporosis direct enhanced service contract.

Nicola Sturgeon: The number of GP practices in each NHS board signed up to the osteoporosis direct enhanced service is illustrated in the following table.

  Practices Signed Up to the Osteoporosis Directed Enhanced Service

  

 NHS Board
 


 Ayrshire and Arran
 56


 Borders
 25


 Dumfries and Galloway
 33


 Fife
 55


 Forth Valley
 51


 Glasgow
 262


 Grampian
 80


 Highland
 82


 Lanarkshire
 97


 Lothian
 103


 Orkney
 5


 Shetland
 0


 Tayside
 62


 Western Isles
 8

Public Sector

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to provide guidance on whistle-blowing in the NHS and other public services.

Nicola Sturgeon: : In the NHS, the Staff Governance Standard commits NHSScotland employers to ensuring that all staff are treated fairly and consistently and that the minimum standards as described in the Partnership Information Network (PIN) policy guidelines are met or exceeded. These guidelines are currently being reviewed to ensure they are up-to-date with current legislation and common practice.

  Within the "Dealing with Employee Concerns" PIN all employees have a fundamental right to raise issues of concern with their manager, to be accompanied by a trade union/professional organisation representative or colleague if they so wish, and to appeal to a higher level if they feel the issue has not been resolved satisfactorily.

  The PIN policy is clear that harassment and victimisation of any member of staff who raises a concern will not be tolerated and will be treated as a serious disciplinary offence which will be dealt with under the management of conduct arrangements.

  If it becomes apparent that there are problems with an NHS board in relation to the implementation of the PIN policies it would be expected that the trade unions and professional organisations would raise the matter through their local partnership processes.

  In local government, employment law is a reserved matter and guidance on whistle blowing can be found on the UK Government’s Directgov website www.direct.gov.uk. As independent corporate bodies it is for each local authority in Scotland to decide what guidance it provides to employees on the subject of whistle blowing.

  In Scottish Government, the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 enables staff who "blow the whistle" about any of the instances of wrongdoing, set out in the act, to complain to an employment tribunal if they suffer any form of detriment for doing so or in the case of a dismissal.

  Alongside the provisions of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, staff have the protections set out in the Civil Service Code. Paragraphs 15 -18 of the Civil Service Code specifically describes the process that should be undertaken if a member of staff is required to act in a way which conflicts with this code. The code states that the concerns of staff must be considered by their department and the department must ensure that the member of staff is not penalised for raising the concerns. This process also covers raising concerns about the actions of others.

Regeneration

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what account will be taken of social deprivation when allocating funds from the Town Centre Regeneration Fund.

Alex Neil: We have introduced the new £60 million Town Centre Regeneration Fund to help our towns reach their full potential and to support local economies through these challenging economic times. As such there is no specific focus on social deprivation.

  All eligible applications will be marked against the following criteria:

  1. We live in a Scotland that is the most attractive place for doing business in Europe, and we realise our full economic potential with more and better employment opportunities for our people. Within this, assessors are asked to pay particular attention to leverage rates, additionality, the involvement and support of the business community, job creation and potential to attract future investment for the first criteria;

  2. We live in well designed, sustainable places where we are able to access the amenities and services we need. Within this, key factors include the extent to which the project supports the delivery of existing local plans and the extent to which it will improve access to the town centre, and provide the range of services required by the local community;

  3. We value and enjoy our built and natural environment and protect and enhance it for future generations;

  4. Deliverability, within which we are looking at the readiness of a project and its ability to deliver outcomes quickly, and

  5. Sustainability, within which we are looking at the extent and nature of support from other local actors as well as considering whether other funding required to make the project a success is in place.

  All applications will receive a score of between zero and five based on the extent to which they meet these criteria. Each will be assessed and scored by two different assessors to ensure fairness, leading to an average score for each criteria. A weighting is then applied to each criteria score to produce an overall score for each application. For the first criteria, the weighting applied is 25; for the second, 20; for the third, nine; for the fourth and fifth, 23. The total weighted score achieved by each application is then used to produce a ranking of bids as a guide to the advisory panel on the extent to which each project might deliver the aims of the fund.

Rural Development

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what support is available to organic farming through the Scotland Rural Development Programme.

Richard Lochhead: Funding for organic producers is available through the Scottish Rural Development Programme under Rural Priorities and the Food Processing Marketing and Cooperation Grant Scheme.

Suicide

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address the rate of suicide in Scotland given that it is higher than in England and Wales.

Nicola Sturgeon: Since 2001-03 the suicide rate in Scotland has reduced by 10%. The Scottish Government is committed to reducing suicide in Scotland by 20% by 2013. The government’s commitment is supported by Choose Life, our 10 year strategic framework and action plan for suicide prevention which is hosted by NHS Health Scotland. NHS boards, local authorities and the voluntary sector are engaged in local activity in support of the target.

  In addition, the NHS has a national target which is to increase workforce knowledge and skills in suicide prevention by ensuring that 50% of frontline primary care, accident and emergency, and mental health and substance misuse staff have been trained in suicide awareness or prevention by the end of 2010. The Scottish Government continues to fund the Scottish element of the UK Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness and undertakes research to improve our knowledge of the key factors underlying suicides including through the development of a confidential suicide register for Scotland.

Suicide

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to determine why Scotland has a higher rate of suicide than England and Wales.

Nicola Sturgeon: The UK Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness is partly funded by the Scottish Government to research the key factors underlying suicide within Scotland, for those people who have been in recent contact with Mental Health Services. The inquiry highlights a decrease in the number of suicides for the people in contact with these services and continues to recommend good practices, such as better aftercare of psychiatric patients following discharge from hospital, with care plans in place to ensure appropriate follow up. There is no one common reason shown for suicide, but the report highlights the role alcohol and drugs play in suicidal behaviour in Scotland.

  The inquiry has also led to the introduction of a confidential Suicide Register for Scotland which investigates suicide for the whole population, not just those who have been in touch with mental health services.

Sustainable Development

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Sustainable Development Strategy remains Scottish Government policy.

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the UK Sustainable Development Strategy remains Scottish Government policy.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government remains committed to sustainable development, as defined in the 2005 UK shared framework for sustainable development, One future – different paths . This commitment is reflected in the Government Economic Strategy, which supersedes the previous administration’s sustainable development strategy, Choosing our Future .

  The Government Economic Strategy, supported by the National Performance Framework, sets out how we are pursuing our central purpose "to create a more successful country where all of Scotland can flourish through increasing sustainable economic growth". In its most recent assessment of the Scottish Government’s performance, the Sustainable Development Commission concluded that this approach represents good practice in sustainable development governance.

Sustainable Development

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that sustainable development and sustainable economic growth must include a recognition that there are environmental limits.

Richard Lochhead: Yes, as reflected in our Government Economic Strategy.